The selloff in Canadian stocks resumed on Tuesday following a day’s pause, as much weaker-than-expected monthly U.S. consumer confidence and new home sales numbers disappointed investors. The S&P/TSX Composite Index dived by 244 points, or 1.2%, yesterday to settle at 19,556 — its lowest closing level in three months.
While all key TSX sectors ended the session in red, the market selloff was primarily led by big losses in real estate, healthcare, mining, and technology stocks.
According to the New York-based nonprofit organization The Conference Board’s latest report, consumer confidence in the United States declined for a second consecutive month in September, with most consumers being concerned about inflation, high interest rates, and the political situation.
Top TSX Composite movers and active stocks
Westshore Terminals Investment (TSX:WTE) tanked by 10% to $25.26 per share, making it the worst-performing TSX Composite component for the session. These big losses in WTE stock came after analysts at Royal Bank of Canada downgraded their rating on the stock from “outperform” to “sector perform” and slashed the target price to $29 per share. The recent selloff trimmed Westshore’s year-to-date gains to 12.6%.
Tilray Brands, SSR Mining, Lundin Mining, and Endeavour Silver were also among the bottom performers on the Toronto Stock Exchange yesterday, plunging by at least 5.4% each.
On the positive side, MEG Energy, West Fraser Timber, and Canadian Natural Resources rose at least 2.4% each, making them the top-performing TSX stocks for the day.
Shares of K92 Mining also gained 2.1% in the last session after signing a US$100 million senior secured loan agreement with the Singapore-based global commodity trading giant Trafigura.
Based on their daily trade volume, TC Energy, Canadian Natural Resources, Suncor Energy, Enbridge, and Cenovus Energy were the five most active stocks on the Canadian stock exchange.
TSX today
After bouncing back from their weekly lows in the last session, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures prices were inching up early Wednesday morning. At the same time, metals prices were largely bearish. Given these mixed signals, I expect the commodity-heavy TSX index to remain nearly flat at the open today.
While no domestic economic releases are due, investors may want to keep a close eye on the monthly durable goods orders and weekly crude oil stockpiles data from the United States this morning.
Market movers on the TSX today
